Raiders rookie Maurice Hurst on anger from draft tumble to fifth round: ‘I don’t know if it ever goes away’

Every time you speak with one of Maurice Hurst’s teammates, the smile and go on about what a great guy he is. Talking to him, he comes off as extremely likable. Just a fun loving guy. Had he been drafted in the top ten last April, where his talent dictated, he would have plenty of reason to be happy. But due to a heart condition, he wasn’t selected until the 5th round.

He did everything he could to prove the condition that the irregular results at the scouting combine was nothing to worry about. He played all four seasons at Michigan with no issue and was cleared by doctors at Michigan and Harvard. But it wasn’t enough and many teams simply took him off their draft boards.

Even teams that may not have removed him from their board, opted to pass on him multiple times. How doest that make Hurst feel? Well, as you might expect from a guy with his personality, he says the right things most of the time. He repeats the words Derek Carr said to him and all the other rookies about proving the Raiders right for making a move up in the fifth round to select him at pick 140 at the top of the 5th round.

That’s all good, but there’s an edge under that calm, smiling demeanor. An anger he figures he will always carry with him.

“I don’t know if it ever goes away. It’s just something that’s always on your shoulder and something that you always have to carry with you and just keep it there to push you harder and make you want to prove not only to the people that picked you, prove them right, but prove those guys that didn’t pick me wrong.”

Even before Hurst had this extra motivation, he was dominant on the field. He doesn’t need the edge. But now he has it. So, why not use it?